NEWLY CROWNED 2014-2015 Super League champions Club Sando have been accepted as the newest TT Pro League club and will compete at the 2015-2016 season, which is set to begin in September.

Meanwhile Club Sando’s youth teams at the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 levels will have their taste at the 2015 Youth Pro League, which will run from March to July.

TT Pro League CEO Dexter Skeene unveiled Club Sando, represented by owner Edison “Eddie” Dean and technical director Muhammad Isa, during a press conference at the Pro League’s office in St Augustine yesterday.

Skeene said that the TT Pro League’s board of directors had reviewed the application of Club Sando, who have been campaigning in the Super League for a number of years and had been successful, and saw it fit to accept the San Fernando club into the TT Pro League fold.

Buoyed by an ambitious owner/CEO Dean, a board of directors that includes Isa, Steve Goopeesingh, Marlon Zoe and Derek Lange, and dedicated players and fans, Club Sando’s arrival at the Pro League is now a reality.

Isa, who said it is a very proud moment, explained that while Club Sando are very thankful for acceptance into the TT Pro League, it was something the club had worked very hard to achieve.

“Our organisation has worked very hard to achieve this,” Isa said. “Three years ago Dean called a meeting with two of the key stakeholders, which were Derek Lange and myself. Our club was approaching 25 years (of existence in 2015), and we decided that at 25 years we want to play at the highest level in the country, which is the TT Pro League.

“We started to work on it two years ago. We didn’t just want to pay our way into the TT Pro League. We wanted to come into the TT Pro League as Super League champions. The management and staff worked very hard to win the Super League and today we are very much honoured to be in the TT Pro League as the Super League champions.”

Club Sando enjoyed their best years at the Super League in the last two seasons since the arrival of former St Ann’s Rangers coach Anthony Streete. In 2013-2014 Club Sando finished runners-up in the both the league and knockout competitions behind Guaya United – another Super League outfit ambitious of entering the Pro League.

One season later Club Sando celebrates the 2014-2015 Super League title in the year of celebrating their 25th anniversary, and to top it off, the club are now preparing for the highest tier of football in Trinidad and Tobago—the TT Pro League.

Club Sando, who also fields a team in the Southern FA, will have the next eight months to prepare for life in professional football.

“We will continue to play the high brand of football that we played in the Super League and I will assure you that we will be competitive in the TT Pro League,” Isa assured. “Our coach (Anthony Streete) cares about the style of football that we play.

“He always emphasised that he wants people to follow the team, so he always emphasised a quality standard from the players. He wants to bring back the fans to football and that’s why we have a (huge fan support) right now because of the style of football that we produce.”

In 2013 Club Sando, who boast of a number of former Pro League players, etched themselves into history, becoming the first second tier team of the Trinidad and Tobago football system to reach the Toyota Classic Final but went under 2-0 against W Connection in the title match.

“We hope that Club Sando’s journey and their stay in professional football is long and fruitful,” Skeene said. “They have a dynamic organisation and now a vibrant brand, which is the TT Pro League. And I want to tell them that they are joining a group of like-minded individuals who have the growth of professional football at heart and who continue to work daily to ensure the sustainability and viability of professional football in Trinidad and Tobago.”

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Baptiste free to compete after doping ban lifted.

In a continuation of its partnership with UNESCO and other organisations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today announced new guidelines urging improved standards of worldwide physical education.

The Quality Physical Education (QPE) Guidelines, aimed at Governments and educational planners, are in line with the IOC's mission to include sport in school curricula worldwide and to promote Olympic values-based education.

"Physical education in schools is crucial if we are to get the couch potatoes off the couch," said IOC President Thomas Bach today during a meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS) at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

"Sport has a central role to play in the education system, not just to fight against obesity and sedentary behaviour, but studies have shown time and again the positive effects physical activity has on the social and intellectual development of young people.

"Collaborating closely with UNESCO, we will ensure physical education is an integral part of school curricula to promote a healthy mind in a healthy body."

The Guidelines are a tool to help Governments reverse the decline in investment in physical education in schools, a trend seen recently in many countries, providing a framework to help policy-makers reshape policy as well as providing practical advice for implementation.

The IOC will specifically provide support to five pilot countries, through their National Olympic Committees from March 2015 to April 2016, although the identity of these five nations are still to be released.

Today's announcement has been billed as a continuation of the IOC's effort to use sport as a tool for education, demonstrating that Olympic values-based education can inspire young people to adopt healthy lifestyles built on the values of friendship, excellence and respect.

Strengthening its partnership with UNESCO to roll out physical education was also among the 40 recommendations approved at last month's Extraordinary IOC Session as part of the IOC Agenda 2020 reform process, with today's announcement a good early step.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee(TTOC) #10golds24 Athlete Preparation and Welfare Fund continues to attract financial support from Corporate Trinidad and Tobago
Following on from the Guardian Group contribution of $250, 000 towards the fund .
four other corporate companies presented cheques on Wednesday  at the Olympic House to the Honorary Secretary General of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) Mrs. Annette Knott.
Representing their respective organisations were  Sean Shaffie - Toyota’s Marketing Manager, Julio Dallacosta - VP Finance Columbus Company, Rawlins C. Boodoo - Southern Sales Group Marketing Manager and Hazel Mootoo - HR Manager Deloitte.

Before the handing over of cheques, TTOC president Brian Lewis thanked  the companies for answering the call to support the athletes of Trinidad and Tobago.

“This is a first  for the Olympic Committee not only because of the roll out of the #10 gold24 and the establishment of the athletes’ preparation and welfare fund but in terms of signaling to the national community the strategic transformation and modernisation of the TTOC marketing approach.”

Lewis added “ in terms of transparency and accountability . We have to be scrupulously transparent. We would love to see at some point this relationship evolve and that you find the experience such a fantastic one that you want to take it to the platinum partner level . It is really about the athletes and no one stake holder can do it alone because it is not an inexpensive proposition.”

Tickets for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Opening Ceremony have sold out and ones for gold medal events are selling fast, the Organising Committee has revealed.

Fans have already snapped up almost 275,000 tickets for the event, with the men's football gold medal game, and aquatics, track cycling, BMX, canoeing and kayaking, beach volleyball and equestrian jumping events proving particularly popular.

"Tickets to see those memorable medal moments are selling quickly," Saäd Rafi, chief executive of Toronto 2015.

"The Games are a once-in-a-generation chance to see our most elite summer Games athletes compete on home soil and to be part of the high-energy crowd who will be cheering them on and singing our anthem together."

There are now also limited tickets available for the men's baseball and basketball gold medal matches, and the 100 metres, 4x100m relay, beach and indoor volleyball and rugby sevens finals, as well as for the Closing Ceremony.

"The numbers are beyond our expectations - especially since we haven't yet announced when Team Canada will be playing, not to mention the countless athletes from across the Americas who are still in the process of qualifying for the Games," Rafi added.

"That said, it was no surprise that the available tickets to our Opening Ceremony, produced by Cirque de Soleil, went fast.

"It's sure to be an unforgettable night."

Toronto 2015 Pan American Games tickets, which start at just $20 (£13/€18), with 75 per cent of tickets priced $45 (£30/€40) and under, are available for purchase here.

Tickets for the Parapan American Games will go on sale in spring this year, giving sports fans the chance to watch some of the world's best Para-athletes as they compete for their chance to qualify for Rio 2016.

The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games are due take place from July 10 to 26, while the Parapan Games are scheduled for August 7 to 15.

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Port-of-Spain, Trinidad January 27, 2015: Guardian Group and the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) hosted a press conference today, Tuesday January 27^th, 2015 to re-affirm its partnership and commitment to the TTOC, ensuring the welfare and protection of Trinidad and Tobago athletes not only as they prepare for Rio 2016 but for life after sport with financial assistance and professional support to the #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund.  In addition to its support of the fund, Guardian Group has been able to structure a package of insurance coverage to the TTOC for all athletes in the Sporting Federations identified by the TTOC. The TTOC is now actively considering the plan which includes local Medical Coverage and Accident Medical coverage for injuries arising out of sporting/training events.

At the press conference Douglas Camacho, Executive Director and Group President Strategic Investments and former President of the TTOC shared Guardian Group’s legacy of support to the TTOC and ongoing commitment to ensuring Trinidad and Tobago’s athletes are so positioned to not only have success in their respective disciplines but in life after sport. This has always been a focus for Guardian Group going as far back as 2001.

Guardian Group’s partnership with TT Olympic Committee spans almost (15) years.  In 2001, Guardian Life of the Caribbean initiated the Youth Star Programme, the vision of which was the personal development of young people which included the nurturing of important life skills – outside of training – for a more holistic development of these young adults. In addition to Guardian’s executives providing expertise in financial and investments planning, these young people were coached in public speaking and presentation skills. The first group of athletes who participated were Darrel Brown, Marc Burns, Danille Prime, Fana Ashby, Shane Stone, Tyler Mayers and Lindell Brooks as part of the pilot project.  In return, these athletes mentored youths in Trinidad and Tobago at schools and other youth fora.

When the Youth Star programme was phased out in 2006, Guardian Life of the Caribbean  partnered with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) to implement a health and wellness initiative aimed at encouraging athletic development and improving the physical wellbeing of Trinidad & Tobago citizens. In 2007 Youth Stars morphed into Shape Your Life,

Affiliate Assistance/ Athletes –four athletes got assistance in their preparation for the Pan American Games in Rio. These were athletes who would not have been able to benefit from the government’s Elite Athletes Funding programme. Among them was local hammer thrower, Candice Scott, the only athlete to represent Trinidad & Tobago in this event.

Elderly Aquatic Programme –for three hours every week from April to August, 40 sixty-five year olds (plus) took part in aerobic aquatic exercises.  Physiotherapists, life guards and instructors in tandem with Hydro-fit facilitated the much enjoyed aqua-therapy.

Intergenerational Heritage Games – 1200 participants ranging in age from 8 to 80 from six communities in rural Trinidad came together for the Games. The games re-established strong links within communities and promoted overall camaraderie and competitive spirit.

TTOC President, Brian Lewis was presented with a cheque from the Group CEO of Guardian Group, Ravi Tewari to aid #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund. Brian Lewis, TTOC President, expressed his gratitude to Guardian Group and commended their long standing partnership in the work of the TTOC. He also indicated that Guardian Group’s offer of medical coverage was a very positive development and breakthrough in the protection and coverage of Trinidad and Tobago athletes on the world stage.